Fortunately for me, my primary physician works at a walk-in clinic, so I didn't have to wait for an appointment with her. I just called the office to see when she was working next (which was like the next day), and then popped in to see her. She already knew I was trying to lose weight. I had seen her last summer when I came to her office after my ankles swelled up after a workout and stayed swollen for days. She told me then I was prediabetic. She also suggested I workout in the gym swimming pool, since I had complained of the lower back pain I was getting from all the weight I was carrying around in my stomach. Anywho, she asked me if I was still working out, but I admitted I had pretty much quit since I dont have access to the gym now (although I do have a small pool in my backyard, so I'm not entirely free of excuses). I had tried doing workouts like BeachBody's "Turbo Fire" and "Insanity" but could barely do more than a few minutes at a time before collapsing. I had told her about the research I had done on various weight loss surgery procedures (I literally researched all day and all night for a few days until I was convinced I wanted to find out more). She had asked if I was interested in any particular surgeon, which I wasn't - that was like the one thing I didn't research. Either way, I trust my primary physician to make good recommendations. She referred me to Dr. Hammer. She told me she would have her nurse schedule me an appointment with his nurse and would call me in a couple days with the appointment date.
Being especially eager to 'get the show on the road', I wanted to be as prepared as possible. I checked out the hospital website for Dr. Hammer and found there were online orientations I was required to complete. The orientations were a few videos, about 20-40 minutes a piece followed by short, multiple choice quizzes. The website also said to have my primary physician fax over my medical records, but that was also done with the referral. After playing phone tag for a few days, I finally got my appointment.
My first appointment was with Dr. Hammer's nurse. She asked me what I knew about the various procedures and filled me in on any important information I was missing. We discusses my best option, and she agreed with my original decision of the gastric sleeve (vertical sleeve gastrectomy). She double checked my medical history (health conditions that run in the family, my health conditions, my medications) and weighed me. She also felt around my stomach to make sure she didn't feel any hernias. I didn't keep track of how long the appointment lasted, but if I were to guess, I would say it was around half an hour. Oh, she also sent me off with a list of lab work to get done. This I was able to get done with my primary physician. I just started a new insurance plan on June 1st, so I was worried about the labs not being covered due to my weight being a 'preexisting condition' (I didn't gain all this weight overnight). Luckily, she said my labs were needed and there was some sorta way around it and my labs were done on the spot (without an appointment... although I would bet most doctors would require an appointment for this list of labs). Several tubes of blood were taken, a urine sample, a chest xray, and an EKG.
My next appointment was about a few days to a week later (I don't remember exactly... my memory is that bad and I didn't write down the appointment dates. I just had my social worker appointment a couple days ago, however) with a social worker. The social worker evaluated me to see if she thought I needed any sort of therapy to work on deeper, underlying issues. I 'passed', so I do not need to see a psychologist. We talked about my history of depression (it is well controlled), what I believe contributed to my weight gain, my home environment and support system (I dont have a very good support system at home, however, she still 'passed' me, but encouraged me to try and talk with my family about being more supportive), what motivates me, etc. This appointment took an hour and fifteen minutes. It took this long because I was having to explain my entire history of depression (26 years in the making), and all the details she was looking for were not easily explained (I don't remember how many therapy visits I had as a child). She gave me a couple 'homework' assignments and a 3-ring binder specifically for patients preparing for bariatric surgery. My assignments include trying to better my family support system (I continue to attempt this, but family members habits are easily changed), make out a consistent schedule (exercise, meals, as well as regular daily things such as homework or work. The point is to think of everything like you would a doctor appointment, and not miss things like workouts), and record what I eat (my next appointment, which is actually tomorrow, is with a registered dietician. I think this is mostly to prepare for my visits with her). I'm not a caffiene drinker, alcohol consumer, or smoker, so I don't have to worry about trying to cut those out of my diet. However, I do have some expensive bottles of diet pills that I dont want to waste. They contain caffiene and once I have surgery, caffiene isn't allowed. I don't want to just have thrown away money, so I'm finishing off these bottles of pills - Lipo 6 Hers Black; Orovo Detox) while I have the chance.
All of my college classes are online (since walking through the parking lot to my classes was too difficult on my lower back) and I don't work, my schedule is very open. That makes it easier to schedule these appointments close together. This will give people an idea of how quickly it is POSSIBLE to get through these appointments to surgery (depending on if you are going through insurance and requirements of the hospital). At the path I'm on, I'm guessing I'll have surgery in October (the 3-ring binder they gave me maps out the appointments and stuff done before surgery is scheduled, as well as the approximate time it takes for insurance approval). They will NOT contact my insurance for surgery approval until the entire bariatric team (not just the surgeon) approves me for it. I looked over the weight loss surgery insurance plan for my insurance provider, and as of February this year, my insurance does NOT require me to have a particular diet set up by the team. However, the hospital I am getting this through may require a diet... it will vary depending on the person. Hopefully I will find out at my appointment tomorrow if I will need to take one. The reason why these diets are usually required is to (1) make sure you are likely to be compliant with your required diet AFTER surgery and (2) to help shrink your liver so they have easier access to your stomach during surgery (part of your liver lies over your stomach).
To help with my 'antsy'ness.... I've been watching a lot of personal journey's on YouTube (be it lap band, the sleeve, or gastric bypass) and getting an idea of what to expect pre and post op through others). I've also watched tv shows that have been uploaded to YouTube (such as 'My 600-lb life'). There are SEVERAL obesity related shows on YouTube... most seem to be british, so you'd need to look up the conversion of lbs to 'stones' if you really want to follow along). Another influential show is "Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition" with personal trainer Chris Powell. This can be found on Xfinity On Demand and on Hulu.com. My advice is to keep watching these motivational and informative shows and keep looking up information. You may get to the point where you think you've learned it all, but eventually you'll find something new (ex: If you experience nausea after surgery, try putting peppermint extract on ice chips and eating them! Neat-o tip!). Also join a forum so you can continue to learn about other's experiences and ask questions. I downloaded the "VST" app to my phone and read through several of the postings and heard about patient's "stalling" (not something I had heard about on other websites or YouTube vlogs). Knowledge is your friend and will help speed up the process and prepare you better!!!
XOXO,
Miss Fat Girl
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